CALAMITOUS FIRE.; Tenement House on Elm-street Destroyed. Thirty Persons supposed to have Perished in the Flames.

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Between seven and eight o'clock, last evening, a fire broke out in the basement of a double six-story tenement house, No. 142 Elm-street. The fire originated in a bakery, and the flames shot up the stairway with great rapidity, and extended to the upper floors, which were occupied by twenty-four families. The moment the alarm was given the scene of confusion that ensued was of the most exciting character. The stairway was burned away, and of course all chance of escape in that direction was cut off. Men women and children could be seen, by the spectators on the sidewalk, clustered at the windows, screaming for assistance, and wringing their hands in the agony of their despair. Some of them mustered courage enough to jump from the windows, and escaped with slight injuries. The fire-bells quickly gave the alarm for the Fifth District, and the firemen repaired to the spot. Ladders were immediately elevated to the windows, but the longest of them could not reach above the fourth floor. The firemen rescued some of the occupants, but were obliged to abandon all hope of saving the poor creatures in the two upper stories, and it is supposed that they all perished. As the firemen stood on the ladders, they could see many women and children lying prostrated on the floor, surrounded by the flames, which rendered all attempts to approach them ineffectual. The burning building extended four stories above any of the surrounding structures, and it must have been instant death for any of the poor creatures on the upper floors to have jumped from the roof, where a great many of them had clustered.

It is said that the baker in the basement kept on hand a large quantity of hay and shavings, and when the fire came in contact with this combustible material, it created a dense smoke, which penerated to the upper portion of the building, and, it is supposed, suffocated a number of the occupants before the flames reached them. When the fire had gained the upper stories, the scene was appalling in the extreme. Myriads of sparks shot up into the air, eclipsing any artificial exhibition of fireworks. The shouts of the firemen, the groans and shrieks of the doomed creatures in the building, and the crackling flames, constituted a scene tragic enough to make the stoutest heart shrink with horror. The firemen worked nobly, but it was found impossible to save the building, and at 11 o'clock the walls fell.

Platoons of Policemen were in attendance, and under the direction of Deputy-Superintendent CARPENTER, preserved order.

The first floor was occupied on the south side by JOHN DEFRIES, as a grocery and liquor store. Loss about $600; insured. On the north side it was tenanted by a baker, whose name it was impossible to learn. He also occupied the basement. His loss is unknown.

The upper part was occupied by about twenty families, of whom the following are all the facts that could be learned:

Mr. WISE, with his family, consisting of his wife and three children, occupied a portion of the front of the second floor. Mr. WISE escaped, and one child three years old was rescued, with a leg broken. No particulars could be obtained as to what became of the rest of the family, and it is feared they perished.

ISAAC WHITE, with his wife and five children, occupied a portion of the second floor. Mr. and Mrs WHITE escaped, and also two of their children -- ELIZA, aged 20 years, and LOUIS, aged 11 years. GUSTAVE, aged 17 years, was absent. ESTER, aged 18 years, and PAULINE, aged 7 years, were nearly suffocated. The two last were taken to the Hospital, but their injurie[???] are not very serious.

A man named FRANCIS SERRO, whose family is absent in France, also occupied a portion of the second floor; he was rescued, badly burnt about the body and hands, and was taken to the Hospital.

GEORGE BOEDNER occupied a portion of the second floor, with his wife, FREDERICA, and two children -- CAROLINE, aged 4 years, and HENRY, aged 16 years Mr. BORDNER and the two children escaped uninjured but Mrs. BORDNER was badly burned. She was found nearly dead by Detective KEEFE, who took her to the Hospital.

Mr. MCCARRICK occupied a portion of the third floor (front) with his family, consisting of a wife and two children; they were all saved uninjured. A Jewish family, consisting of eight persons, occupied a portion of the third floor. The name could not be ascertained, and the only member of the family that could be found was a child 2 1/2 years of age -- that was conveyed to No. 15 Howard-street. It is feared a portion of the family were burned. Mr. DRICKS, with his wife and five children, occupied a portion of the third floor. As none of the family was seen after the fire broke out it is feared they all perished. Mr. WALKS, with his wife and two children, occupied a portion of the third floor (back.) No particulars could be learned of them, although a diligent search was made among the crowd to find if any of them were rescued. Mr. ARMSTRONG, with his wife and child, were tenants of a part of the fourth floor. Nothing could be learned of them after the fire broke out. Mr. STARK, with his wife and two children, inhabited a part of the fourth floor; nothing could be learned of them. Mr. REBECCO, with his wife, two children, and four persons whose names could not be ascertained, occupied a portion of the fourth floor. Nothing could be learned of them. Mrs. NORTH, a widow, occupied a room on the fifth floor, and she was not seen after the alarm. WM. VOPEL and his wife FRANCENE occupied a portion of the fifth floor. Mr. VOPEL, on the discovery of the fire, finding that he could not escape by the stairway, threw a clothes-line out of the window and fastened one end to the window sill; he let his wife partially down when she slipped and fell on to a shed, injuring her severely. He followed and escaped with a few slight injuries. Mrs. VOPEL was taken to the Hospital, but her life is despaired of. FRANCIS TYSMEYER, with his wife and three children, occupied part of the fifth floor. He escaped by jumping out of the window, receiving severe injuries. His wife and children are supposed to have perished. Owing to the intense excitement that prevailed, the names of the occupants of the sixth floor could not be ascertained, and as the fire commenced near the staircase, cutting off all hope of escape in that quarter, it is generally supposed that the occupants of this floor, about a dozen in all, were burned to death. WILLIAM NORTH and his family, consisting of his wife and three children, occupied part of the third floor, and all escaped uninjured.

The building, worth about $16,000, was owned by EDWARD WARING, and was damaged to the extent of $8,000; fully insured. The loss of furniture amounts to about $3,000.

A two-story frame building, No. 144 Elm-street, was considerably damaged. MATTHEW LYNCH occupied the upper part, and JOHN BROWN occupied the lower part. Their aggregate less is about $500; not insured. The building, owned bv Mr. BROWN, was damaged about $500; insured. Mr. BROWN occupied a frame building in the rear as a carpenter shop, and it was damaged about $500; not insured. The two-story frame building, No. 146 Elm-street, occupied as a dwelling by W.B. NEAR, was damaged about $200. The two and a half-story brick buildings, occupied as dwellings by several families, were badly burned. The aggregate loss on these two buildings is about $3,000; partially insured. A large building on the opposite side of the street, occupied as a white lead factory, was on fire several times, but the flames were speedily extinguished by the firemen before they could gain any headway.

A version of this archives appears in print on February 3, 1860, on Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: CALAMITOUS FIRE.; Tenement House on Elm-street Destroyed. Thirty Persons supposed to have Perished in the Flames. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe